Dante and Virgil Meeting the Shades of Francesca da Rimini and Paolo
1851
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1851
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dante and Virgil Meeting the Shades of Francesca da Rimini and Paolo is a 1851 unspecified by Ary Scheffer, a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see two poets in a dark wind, watching two souls cling to each other as they’re swept past. This scene comes from Dante’s *Divine Comedy*, where Francesca and Paolo are trapped in Hell for loving each other. They weren’t supposed to be together—her marriage was political—but their story became famous for its sadness. The painting shows the moment Dante realizes even love can be punished. If you want to see more like this, look up the subject netherlands, mod euro.
